The Lamb Does Not Save Himself

The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for those who were not clean in order to consecrate the people to the Lord. The people stood by watching. But the rulers with them scoffed, saying, “Let the lamb save himself.”

The first sentence is from 2 Chronicles 30:17. The second and third sentences don’t belong there. What the rulers said doesn’t make any sense, does it? Everyone knows that the lamb does not save himself.

Fast forward in time.

When they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified Him. … The people stood by watching. But the rulers with them scoffed, saying, “He saved others. Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the Chosen One of God.” And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Him sour wine, saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

This is Luke 23, verses 33 and 35 to 37. Think about what the rulers and the soldiers said. Does it make sense?

If Jesus saved others, could He save Himself?

If Jesus was a king, could He save Himself?

If Jesus was the Christ, could He save Himself?

I see logic in the first point the rulers made: If Jesus saved others, He could save Himself. When Jesus healed people, and when He brought dead people back to life, He did that with Creator power. Creator power was always available to Him.

I see logic in what the soldiers said: If Jesus was a king, He could save Himself. Surely a king could wield the authority to stop this. Kingly authority was always available to Him.

Where does the logic fall apart? “Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ.”

Well, to be fair, the logic falls apart if you understand that the Christ is the One who had been described in scripture this way: “He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

The Lamb does not save Himself.

Jesus is the Creator. Jesus is the King. But, He set aside all of the trappings of those things so that He could be the Lamb.

He emptied Himself, taking upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in the form of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:7-8)

The Lamb does not save Himself.

We probably should cut the rulers some slack. It’s easy for us to see this in hindsight, as it is beautifully woven throughout scripture. But it was not well understood at the time. Even Peter, before Jesus was crucified, didn’t get it. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” Shortly after that, Jesus told His disciples that He would be killed. Peter didn’t want to hear that, and he declared, “This shall not happen to You.” Jesus didn’t want to hear that.

He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things that are of God, but those that are of men.” (Matthew 16:23)

To deny that Jesus would die was the devil talking. The Lamb does not save Himself. If we are mindful of the things that are of God, we will see this. If we are mindful of the things that are of people, we will miss this.

The Lamb does not save Himself.

Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

The Lamb does not save Himself.

By this we know the love of God: that He laid down His life for us. (1 John 3:16)

The Lamb does not save Himself.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.